The Man Behind the Megaphone
MobCoach Profiles: Richmond Loo
Richmond Loo, aka Mr Megaphone. (Photo: Richmond Loo)
One of the integral experiences of being a member at CrossFit Mobilus is witnessing a Richmond Loo speech. Whether he’s taking you through the importance of functional fitness; hyping you up for your next workout; or just talking about the Mobilus community– Richmond has an unmistakable joy for what he does, and is more than excited to share it with anyone who will listen.
As a co-owner and coach, Richmond has been with Mobilus since the early days. While his official role changed through the years, he has always played a key part in connecting with and building the community.
This month for our MobCoach Profiles, we take a look at the man behind the megaphone– Richmond Loo.
What’s something you could beat any other coach at?
I can breakdance and battle any one of them on the dance floor.What is your favourite thing to see in a class?
When the kettlebells are placed back neatly…hahaWhat is your best CrossFit movement?
Give me butterfly pull-ups anytime!
Hi Richmond! Tell us a little more about yourself.
Richmond: I was a Physical Education(PE) teacher for eight years. I enjoy teaching sports, especially to kids, and that formed a big part of me loving CrossFit. It taught me a lot about how important sports and physical fitness is for better empowerment of people. I’ve always been a big believer of that.
Richmond at 27 (photo: Richmond Loo)
I used to have a lot of bad habits, I was a smoker for a good ten years. I picked it up when I was 14 because I thought it was cool, and smoked until I was in polytechnic. I quit when I entered national service because I was running slow, and I don’t like to run slow because I am a competitive person. I realised that it was the cigarettes that was causing that, and one of my most fond memories was that I was able to kick this bad habit.
Richmond and wife, Selene (photo: Richmond Loo)
I met my wife here (at Mobilus), Selene. We’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs together. One of the best moments of course, is when I proposed to her in the gym. One of the worst things was when we found out she had breast cancer. But one of the best things that happened after that was that despite having breast cancer– we all know the story of how she actually continued to do the CrossFit Open and has shown that she is so resilient. This is something that is also a big facet of what I believe that Mobilus actually is. A very resilient community.
So what got you into CrossFit? And how did you start out with Mobilus?
Richmond: I started 12 years ago at CrossFit Hub- back then there were only a few CrossFit gyms. I’m always very grateful to them because they’re the ones who showed me CrossFit and I was with them for a couple of years.
Richmond at CrossFit Hub. (Photo: Richmond Loo)
The CrossFit L1* started, and there were very few held in Singapore. After 2 years of doing CrossFit I wanted to try and get my L1 to try a little coaching, and I attended it with Edwin and Shawn, who are also now, partners and full-time at Mobilus. The course was life changing, that’s when I caught the bug, to be honest with you.
From right: Richmond, Edwin, Shawn at the CrossFit L1 course in 2013. (Photo: Richmond Loo)
*CrossFit L1 or Level 1 is an certified course by CrossFit, LLC held at various CrossFit gyms worldwide. It offers expert instruction on the CrossFit methodology through two days of classroom instruction, small-group training sessions, and coach-led workouts. (Source: CrossFit.com)
Two other Mobilus founders were there, and during the lunch session I was partnered with one of them. After that we all met up, and that’s where the first 7 was formed, the original partnership.
One day we thought- shall we start a business? We started small, just putting a few dollars into it, and started off in Kallang sharing two lifting platforms with SWF (Singapore Weightlifting Federation).
Mobilus back in 2013 at Singapore Weightlifting Federation. (Photo: Mobilus Singapore)
(At the time) Mobilus was just a Facebook closed group. We were not a CrossFit Affiliate*, and we didn’t have money to be an affiliate.
Of course we’ve gone through a lot of transformation to where we are now, celebrating our 10 year anniversary last year.
*CrossFit affiliation allows CrossFit gyms to legally use the CrossFit trademark, and offer CrossFit training at a physical location. It also allow the gyms to easily participate in CrossFit events. (Source: CrossFit.com)
Now in 2024, CrossFit Mobilus has become a fixture in the fitness community, with two locations, offering a variety of specialised classes designed to meet members’ training needs.
These classes cater to members who need a little extra help refining skills for CrossFit, as well as those who prefer to focus on different aspects of their training. With a diverse range of classes, CrossFit Mobilus offers training that is accessible and meets members’ needs.
How would you describe Mobilus’ growth as a gym through the last few years?
Richmond: People used to view CrossFit as tough to do, difficult to get into and things like that. I hope that over the last ten years, Mobilus has shown that that’s not the case.
It took us many years to develop our specialty classes like MobEngine, MobStrong, MobGymnastics, MobBuild, and also the latest - HYROX.
“We hope that over the past 10 years, Mobilus was able to make CrossFit more accessible to everyone, to make them believe that anybody can do it. That resulted in the fact that we were able to have two gyms in the city, spanning a very healthy population.”
Mobilus has grown not only in size, but in participation in the CrossFit Open. As the Open season rolls around each year, both Mobilus locations are abuzz through the weekend, filled with athletes completing their workouts and a large gathering of friends and family to support them. For years, Richmond has played host and emcee to these events– armed with a megaphone (or microphone), always ready to rally the crowd and raise the roof.
Richmond hosting The Open in 2023. (Photo: Mobilus Singapore)
What is your role in hosting the Open at Mobilus?
Richmond: In Mobilus I usually run all the events, and the CrossFit Open is the biggest community event that we have. Mainly, I have to stage the competition and make sure that our hundred over athletes have competition slots to perform their workouts.
My job also entails setting the standards, meaning that whatever workout comes out, I need to tape the lines on the floor, and make sure that all the measurements are correct.
One of the most important things I do is hype it up– I'm the host almost every event day of the three weeks. I hype it up for the community on site and also on social media.
Beyond The Open, my job is also to work with our budding athletes– our QuarterFinalists, and SemiFinalists– make sure that they are well taken care of, that they have the best training environment, so that after three weeks they get to go beyond and do their best at a higher level.
Tell us a little more about the ‘hyping it up’. Of course, you do the necessary with arranging the competition slots and setting the space, but you clearly go above and beyond with hyping up the Open– both in person and on social media. Is that something that comes naturally to you?
Richmond: Yes (laughs), because I love big events. I remember when I was young, when WWE was still called WWF and used to come to Singapore, I would be there.
I always imagined myself as a hype man, y’know? Being a ring announcer. So the CrossFit Open is kind of my opportunity to develop that persona.
Actually if you’ve ever wondered where I got the nickname ‘Mr Megaphone’, the nickname didn’t come from me. In the year 2019 or 2018 during the Open– it had gotten so loud in the gym that I told my boys, ‘eh listen I cannot keep talking like that. I’m losing my voice. I think it’s time to buy me a megaphone.’
So I had a megaphone, and there was a video of our member doing a squat clean– and it like was a major PR(personal record) and I was there right behind her– so I turned around with my megaphone, and I was yelling at her and pointing at her yelling ‘stand the bar up’!
That clip was reposted by CrossFit Games, and the caption said ‘every box needs a hype man like Mr Megaphone’.
I used to be called Richmond Loo on Instagram, but then of course, I decided to change it to Mr Megaphone. Ever since then there’s been sort of a tradition of me requiring some kind of amplifier when I host— so ‘Megaphone’ lor.
The persona really grew from there, it’s like y'know those wrestlers, they call themselves ‘The Rock’ or ‘Hulk Hogan’– they’re not ‘The Rock’ in real life, but they have to be that persona- I thought that I always wanted to have that persona.
So I hype it up a lot, if you ever come to my CrossFit Open week I’ll make sure you’re well announced, I’ll make sure that everybody knows you're doing the workout. Because to me, I'm not the hype, it's the community that’s the hype. I’m the vessel for it.
So what’s the intent behind the hype? Because at face value, what we see is a lot of volume and excitement. But what’s the goal?
Richmond: The goal of the hype is very simple, there is only one goal - to tell everybody that The CrossFit Open is for everyone, because that 3 weeks is gonna be the biggest party you’re gonna have in the gym.
Yes it’s a competition, but it’s also the only time where the whole gym comes together. We cheer for each other; we support each other; we ditch work to judge for our friends, and I want them all to come experience it.
The CrossFit Open at Mobilus at 2018. (Photo: Mobilus Singapore)
When I did my first CrossFit Open in 2012, the first workout was a 7 minute burpee AMRAP (as many reps as possible). I couldn't believe that for 7 minutes I was doing burpees, but at the same time, I got a lot of people cheering for me and I’d never had that in my life.
That was where I realised how amazing the CrossFit Open can be. So I swore to myself - y'know what? I believe in the vision of CrossFit Open because I believe it will unite our community and unearth everybody’s potential.
If not for that 7 minutes of AMRAP burpees I wouldn't know that I could be this competitive– and now, I'm going for my 12th CrossFit Open already.
“So that’s the main goal, to tell everyone about the Open because it’s so good. What a party. You’ll never find anything matching this vibe in our gym. ”
Richmond Loo during a CrossFit competition. (Photo: Mobilus Singapore)
What are your goals for the coming season, and what makes this year’s Open special?
Richmond: My goal is the same every year, I want things to be conducted happily, I want people to enjoy their time, but as the years go by, the goalpost starts to widen…
This year we actually have more debutants in The Open than before. My main goal is to make sure these new folks understand the RX, Scaled and Foundations standards, and know that for the past months that they’ve been training with us, that what they’ve been doing in class will be useful for these three weeks. That’s one of the goals, to take care of the debutants.
This year I've also handed over much of my organisation to Landy, who has now stepped up to helm the Open. You can call her probably the next megaphone or something haha. So I have to mentor her to take over– but I'm not retired yet, just saying, I’m not done yet, you’ll still see me for a while.
Richmond and Coach Landy Eng, during The Open 2023. (Photo: Mobilus Singapore)
Now The Open has a different format of 25% qualification for QuarterFinals. I suspect we’re gonna have more QuarterFinalists than ever. so how do I prepare the Open athletes to help them develop to possibly their first time as a QuarterFinalist.
And also, trying to make sure our teams are taken care of– we want to make another trip back to South Korea, or maybe take some teams that have never been there before and put them there once and for all. So these are quite a number of goals la.
*The CrossFit Games is a series of stages that culminate in the ultimate showcase of fitness prowess and determination. Participants qualify through the various stages - The Open, QuarterFinals, SemiFinals, Games. Find out more about the season here.
One of the teams representing Mobilus during the Semi-Finals held in Busan, Korea in 2023. (Photo: Mobilus Singapore)
More broadly, what’s are you looking forward to for the rest of this year?
Richmond: For me, one of the most amazing things we’ll do is in August– me and my wife, we’re going to the CrossFit Games. It’s always been my dream, finally I can make it happen. When I was a teacher it was impossible to travel in August. However, ever since I left teaching to run my own business, I am finally able to go, and we’ll be bringing the Singapore flag and Mobilus flag to represent at the Games. That’s something I’m really excited about.
I think more exciting is the third gym we’re going to have, in the River Valley area. It’s a new concept for us, it’s actually not a CrossFit facility, but it’s everything else that we know can make CrossFit better.
Also, HYROX is returning! We’re are so excited to have a closer partnership right now with HYROX Singapore. Whatever you saw us doing for HYROX last year, this year is going to be bigger. More training, more chances to push the sleds. This year we get to go to the National Stadium again, and I will be doing my first ever HYROX because last year I missed out on it. My doubles partner is none other than my wife, so I look forward to that.
I don’t want to put pressure on my staff, but I will say this– I know some of my staff will possibly be punching their first time ticket to compete in the SemiFinals. I’m excited because I was there at the SemiFinals (last year), and for those who qualified when they were there– it was so special, and I hope that they get a taste of it.
Truth be told, they still need to go through the Open and battle the QuarterFinals– but y'know what, they know for a fact that Mobilus– not just me– the entire community, backs them. They just need to show up, do their best in their training, and everything else will be settled. So if that were to happen, I’d be super happy, because it’s another bunch of people we can put on a regional stage. It gives a lot of meaning to why I even started Mobilus in the first place, and that’s something I look forward to.
Any last words for our audience?
Richmond: I want to tell everyone that whether or not you’re participating in the CrossFit Open, we should constantly remind ourselves of how blessed we are to be able to workout, to move well.
“Time can be a big robbery, everybody gets old and sometimes we fall into phases where we stop working out. As long as we still make our time to the gym, whether or not we join the CrossFit Open, it’s a party everyday and we should remind ourselves of that. ”
Richmond(right) and Mobilus Athlete - Ian Wee (left) during 2019 CrossFit Open. (Photo: Mobilus Singapore)
For those who are going to do the CrossFit Open, it is definitely going to be a big party. I will ride with you from week one to week three, the community backs you, have fun, you will display untapped potential.
For those who are not participating, come and join us! Or, don’t worry, at least come and support us la. Make our weekend big man. I look forward to seeing everyone from March 1st to the 19th.
The CrossFit Open will take place across three weekends, from March 1st to the 19th. This weekend kicks off with the first workout being released on March 1st. The end of registration for the Open will coincide with the deadline for score submission deadline for the first event, on March 4th, 5pm PT( 9am SGT).
As of now, Mobilus has a roster of about 100 athletes registered across the two gyms.
Head over to games.crossfit.com to join in the fun and sign up for the Open!
